Environment & Climate Change Associate Officer

Contract

This is a UNV International Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Youth contracts.

UNDP Serbia, acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund, is supporting the Government of Serbia to implement the GEF and GCF-funded projects (e.g. the GEF-funded projects “Reducing Community Carbon Footprint by a Circular Economy Approach in the Republic of Serbia”, “Enhancing the Energy Management System to Scale up Energy Efficiency Investments in Public Buildings in Serbia”, the GCF Readiness Programme project “Advancing Medium and Long Term Adaptation Planning in the Republic of Serbia”, etc.).

Moreover, UNDP is supporting the Government of Serbia to comply with the EU accession agenda and priorities, including in the field of environment and climate change (the Negotiating Cluster 4 – Chapter 27 “Climate Change and Environment”). UNDP supports this process in particular through the implementation of the project “EU for Green Agenda in Serbia: Get Started, Take Action, Scale-up”, funded by the EU, the governments of Switzerland and Sweden and the Government of Serbia. The European Green Deal and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans offer a blueprint for joint action to tackle the challenges of decarbonization and green transition. The Green Agenda was shaped into regional action through the Sofia Declaration and the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans 2021 – 2030.

UNDP Serbia supports the Government and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. local self-governments, businesses, CSOs and academia etc.) in the efficient, inclusive, and sustainable implementation of climate change policies and measures and green transformation of the society and the economy. This is done by improving the strategic and legislative framework, co-financing the implementation of innovative pilot projects, and mobilizing additional financing for scale-up investments.

This assignment will focus on coordination of the inputs from the UNDP Serbia environment and climate change portfolio for the purpose of preparing reports, briefing notes and recommendations for the Country Office management. In addition to this, the UN Volunteer will provide administrative and logistic support to the UNDP Serbia management team, with a particular focus on the environment and climate change portfolio of activities.

UNDP is, therefore, looking to deploy UN Youth Volunteer and would equip him/her with proper information and knowledge products of relevance to the assignment. At the same time, the incumbent would provide support in implementing the green portfolio of projects in UNDP Serbia, as described above.

Under the direct supervision of the UNDP Serbia Programme Analyst – Climate Change and Environment, the International UN Youth Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Facilitate and support the communication and information presentation from senior management to the country office and other stakeholders as necessary; • Participate and support the senior management meetings in the follow-up of issues resulting from these meetings; • Analyse, compile and prepare data for relevant policy and operational discussions related to UNDP programmes and other senior management actions; • Assist in sharing lessons learned of UNDP-supported activities in 2023 to relevant staff within national institutions responsible for environment and climate change policies; • Support UNDP Country Office (in particular the climate change team and UNDP communication team) in better promotion of the projects’ success; • Review and provide technical inputs to various draft reports, and draft analyses as well as for draft terms of reference; • Assist the climate change team in managing and reviewing deliverables of consultants; • Assist in the management of the Country Office’s ongoing climate change programmes alongside participating in the formulation of new project proposals; • Assist in the implementation of the UNDP partnerships and resource mobilization strategies; • Contribute with recommendations to monitoring and implementation of projects; • Collect information, monitor development and transfer knowledge between relevant stakeholders to ensure a timely and adequate response; • Provide suggestions in the area of responsibilities and ensure coordinated information flow and information-sharing on UNDP climate change projects; • Draft correspondence and reports as required; • Assist in appraising project proposals, supporting to ensure they are properly prepared in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures; • Support advocacy and public awareness activities on UNDP and UNV programmes and activities; • Perform any other duties assigned by the UNDP Programme Analyst within the scope of relevant responsibilities.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Integrity ☒ Judgement and Decision-making ☒ Knowledge Sharing

and/or demonstrated interest in : • International and national policies and laws related to climate change,
• Exposure to research and analysis, project formulation, and/or policy development; • Access to and knowledge of the latest academic and practitioner perspectives, methodologies, networks, and reference resources for climate change and DRR sector, recovery, and development; • Familiarity with sectoral norms, practices, and agreements relating to the project;
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded.

The UN Volunteer will be based in Belgrade, the capital of the Republic of Serbia. The urban area of Belgrade has a population of 1.23 million, while nearly 1.7 million people live within the administrative limits of the City of Belgrade. Belgrade has an extensive public transport system consisting of buses, trams, and trolleybuses, which are affordable and widely used by residents. The city is well connected with the other parts of the country as well as with other European cities and capitals by busses, trains and airlines. Thanks to Belgrade’s central location, most of the other European cities are a couple of hours away. Belgrade itself became one of the prominent tourist destinations in Europe. Belgrade offers a unique sense of history, a rich vein of culture, and a variety of entertaining, cultural, sport and outdoor experiences. Social life in Belgrade is usually a pleasant experience for foreigners and there is a range of activities available.

Belgrade's real estate market is very vibrant, and it is not difficult to find safe and comfortable accommodation. Services in terms of banking, transportation, communications, etc. are well-developed and available.

A significant number of people in Belgrade speak English, so it won’t be a problem in everyday communication. English-speaking media is available, and restaurants and cafes have menus in English.

For more details, please visit:

http://www.serbia.com/ and https://www.beograd.rs/en/living-in-belgrade/

Belgrade is a family duty station, classified as “A” by ICSC. A to E duty stations are rated on a scale that assesses the difficulty of working and living conditions from A to E, with A being the least and E, being the most difficult. Medical facilities are well-developed and easily accessible. The educational institutions at all levels as well as international schools are available. In accordance with the security risk assessment, it is under Security Level 1 (minimal). No security clearance is required when traveling to SL1 areas.

UN Volunteer entitlements and allowances: The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteer’s service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos) and use the entitlement calculator (https://app.unv.org/calculator) for the most up to date information